The Duran
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Authored by Aaron Kesel via ActivistPost.com:
The coronavirus outbreak is proving to be the Trojan horse that justifies increased digital surveillance via our smartphones.
All over the world, starting with China – the suspected origin of the COVID-19 outbreak – governments are increasing surveillance of citizens using their smartphones. The trend is taking off like wildfire; in China citizens now require a smartphone application’s permission to travel around the country and internationally.
The application is AliPay by Ant Financial, the finance affiliate controlled by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Jack Ma, and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat. Citizens now require a green health code to travel, Yahoo News reported.
China isn’t the only country looking towards smartphones to monitor their citizens; Israel and Poland have also implemented their own spying to monitor those suspected or confirmed to be infected with the COVID-19 virus. Israel has gone the more extreme route, and has now given itself authority to surveil any citizen without a court warrant. Poland on the other hand is requiring those diagnosed with COVID-19 ordered to self-isolate to send authorities a selfie using an app. Which, if Poles don’t respond back in 20 minutes with a smiling face, they risk a visit from police, Dailymail reported.
Singapore has asked citizens to download an app which uses Bluetooth to track whether they’ve been near anyone diagnosed with the virus; and Taiwan, although not using a smartphone, has introduced “electronic fences” which alert police if suspected patients leave their homes.
Meanwhile, here in the U.S. as reported by the Washington Post, smartphones are being used by a variety of companies to “anonymously” collect user data and track if social distancing orders are being adhered to. Beyond that, the mobile phone industry is discussing how to monitor the spread of COVID-19. If that’s not enough, as this author reported for The Mind Unleashed, the government wants to work with big social tech giants like Google, Facebook, and others, to track the spread of COVID-19.
A new live index shows the increase of the police state by Top10VPN, a Digital Rights group. Top10VPN lists a total of 15 countries which have already started measures to track the phones of coronavirus patients, ranging from anonymized aggregated data to monitor the movement of people more generally, to the tracking of individual suspected patients and their contacts, known as “contact tracing.”
That’s not the only live index, a company called Unacast that collects and analyzes phone GPS location data also launched one. Except this is a “Social Distancing Scoreboard” that grades, county by county, monitoring who is following social distancing rules.
As Activist Post previously wrote while discussing the increase of a police surveillance state, these measures being put into place now will likely remain long after the pandemic has stopped and the virus has run its course. That’s the everlasting effect that COVID-19 will have on our society. The coronavirus is now classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, and it may very well be a legitimate health concern for all of us around the world. But it’s the government’s response that should worry us all more in the long run.
At the time of this report the COVID-19 virus has infected 640,589, killed 29,848, while 137,270 have recovered according to the Johns Hopkins map.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
And if you do not operate a smartphone…What does Big Brother do then?
Prob eventually fine you. Or in future implied guilt [if you didn’t have your phone with you you must have been doing something dodgy]. ????
FFS some of these articles are no better than pro establishment fear mongering. Covid 19 is a dedly virus that has taken lives and needs dealt with. Government responses have at worst been misleading and at best very lax, both damning actions (or inactions). Trojan horse are plenty in government and certainly not new, but right here, right now we’ve a bigger problem, Staying safe and staying alive. Once enough time has passed and recovery begins then we’ll worry about the clean up and where the government go from here.
It’s a hoax for Gun Cohentrol and Social Tracking Distance.
It’s needless if that’s true. Lest everyone is a clarvoyent it ought to be observed that we are playing that most plebian of pursuits called catch up. We some of have figured out is after a fact and only occasionally are we truly ahead of the curve imo.
Carona-virus is a parasite that can live only in an animal
and if you love to eat meat, eggs and dairy products,
you are among those most likely to become a host for
the virus.
Especially if you eat the dead flesh of pigs or other
scavenger animals that lived off the putrefied flesh
of dead animals, as that is the root cause of all cancer.
A pig is not a “scavenger” animal. A pig feeds on vegetarian food like apples, potatoes.
You are completely wrong! Pigs are omnivorous animals like humans as well, it’s a scientific fact, look it up.
Roasted Ham is delicious. His siblings Shem and Japheth, a little on the stringy side though.
PS: Where is Ellis’ Church, so I can be sure to keep 1000 cubit distance?
There is only one thing that stands between us and the Carona-virus plague, our immune system. In short, give your anti-bodies the ability to live, move and have their beings. So, as I have a track record of over a half-century of no healthcare expenses for myself and a family of five, take this advise: Eat no meat, eggs or dairy products and put nothing in your grocery cart that is more then 15% fat. Eat only whole unprocessed foods with none of the vitamins, minerals or complex carbohydrates refined out. And so, for breakfast eat crushed bananas over oatmeal.… Read more »
More than that alot of websites are being blocked. Even the duran I get the writing but no pictures (my internet connection is fine). However websites that are spruking ridiculous fearmongering are fine. It’s not just the websites you’d think are getting censored. I was reading about low vit d cases and assessment yesterday but can’t access them today. It could just be internet traffic but why some sites and not others? I have a theory that I think is backed up by science that this uncontrolled spread uncontrolled spread is linked to low vit d levels. So the first… Read more »
System would not allow me to edit above comment. I wanted to change:
“this virus” to “mysterious upper respiratory illnesses [often with links to pneumonia]”.
Also wanted to add a suggestion to those in Vic & Tas Australia, New Zealand, Chile & Argentina look into organising vit d supplements for winter [if an option] for those of us above 37° latitude just don’t get enough UVB in winter months for our bodies to generate vit D. Or investigate foods with vit D (there’s not much).
Balognavirus is a semitic power grab and tax hike.